Achieving Your Successful Future: Your Roadmap to Excellence
Shweta, a 20-year-old, had great aspirations for herself like any other person of her age. She wanted to pursue an MBA in Marketing because it was the most popular career and also because her friends often told her that she was very good at convincing others. Shweta completed her graduation and gained admission into the MBA.
She successfully completed the two-year full-time course with a specialization in Marketing & got into a job. Initially, Shweta felt a sense of achievement since she had finally gotten into the field of her own choice. Six months passed by. Now slowly a feeling of inability to handle the stress of the job started pouring in.
The reason is, that her job profile included aspects that she had never expected she would ever have to go through, for instance, her job included not just visiting MNCs, but also rural areas, continuous traveling, frequent out-station trips, pressure to meet deadlines, and so on…finally leading to the “I quit” decision.’
This is no unusual or unfamiliar situation to any of us. In fact, many of us might currently be part of a similar situation but probably wouldn’t want to admit it, the reason being fear of different factors like parental pressure, societal image, etc. But have we ever given a thought to the factors leading us to such situations?
Let’s face it…’nothing just happens. There is probably ignorance on our part to some of the most important aspects that need to be considered much before entering a particular stream, for instance, the extent of your abilities, your level of intelligence, and most of all the kind of person you are, i.e. your personality, which is one of the most crucial dimensions to be well thought about.
Personality is not just your height, weight, looks, etc. This only refers to your surface personality. What about your hidden qualities that do not or rather very rarely surface? Something like the extent to which you can handle your emotions face daily life situations, social behavioral aspects like mixing up in a crowd, talking mannerisms, observation skills, stress tolerance, etc.
Keeping all this in mind, let’s look at a few professions and the specific personality traits that they demand of a person;
[I] Actor / Actress
A profession that’s always been a ‘dream of many, but the reality for a chosen few’. Opportunities to try your hand at it have increased considering the number of auditions being conducted and the increase in the number of training institutes. So is this field open only to those with good looks and a good build? If only good looks were the criterion to be a part of this industry, then all the ‘beautiful & handsome’ would have ruled. But we know that’s not true. It is only the talent & creativity of the performer that makes them pillars of the entertainment industry.
A person with so-called perfect looks & figures can probably be a hero or a heroine but not necessarily a good actor/actress.
Now what do you think are the personality traits required if you are looking forward to being the best actor around someday? Just read on to get a hint;
- Ability to face criticism and take it in a positive sense
- Absence of stage fear/comfort in front of the camera
- Creativity
- Dedication & commitment
- Good Communication skills
- Good health & stamina
- Observation skills
- Patience
- Self-confidence
[II] Air-Hostess
Flying high up in the sky, wearing the perfect outfit, getting a good handsome pay every month [not to mention the additional incentives], being in a different country or state every second day…wow! Sounds great, doesn’t it?
What does it take to be an air hostess? Often one gets into the job with various reasons, like, “I love traveling”, “want to fulfill my childhood dream”, “I’ve always dreamt of touring round the world”, “want to earn a lot of money”, “I think I look good and so deserve to be one”, and so on…
It’s good to aspire so high, but what about the personality traits that the job of an air hostess actually demands? Now this is something which is ignored most of the time. So here’s an indicative list;
- Ability to keep calm even in crisis
- Ability to work for long hours
- Flexibility with regard to time & place
- Good communication skills
- Self-confidence
- Good stamina
- High-level of patience
- Keenness to be among and deal with different people
- Presence of mind
[III] Architect
Not just creativity but ‘concrete creativity’ is what you require to succeed as an architect. A field that explores your technical as well as creative skills…of course alongside its own demands of the kind of person you ought to be to cope with the demands of the job.
The list although indicative will definitely give you a hint as to what you need to expect and improve in yourself before actually stepping into this profession;
- Ability to be outside in the open for long hours
- Ability to work with people
- An understanding of legal & financial matters
- High level of involvement in the job
- Keen observation skills
- Patience
- Persistence
[IV] Beautician
Visiting the beauty parlor for various reasons has now become a part and parcel of routine life, something without which a person [male/female] cannot survive.
Imagine the parlor crowded with clients throughout the day and if your observation skills were good, you will have definitely observed your beautician attending to every client with the same pleasant expression, doing the needful wholeheartedly without his/her exhaustion affecting the work effectiveness in any way.
Do you think you can be one of them, having the same level of patience, overseeing your exhaustion, and still providing the best quality service to your customers? These are just a few qualities. Additional qualities include;
- Ability to maintain rapport with customers
- Ability to put customers in physical and mental comfort
- Ability to stand for long hours
- Creativity
- Good communication skills
- Particularly with regard to hygiene
[V] Doctor
A profession that is a dream and ambition for many and serves as an inspiration to others…a profession that not only brings in good money but alongside good status too…but like it’s always said “nothing comes easy”.
In order to walk on this velvet path you need to definitely cross over a lot of crude, thorny paths like mental & physical exertion, variable time schedule, working under time pressure, handling a family that knows no medical terms, handling a patient who trusts you the least, counseling patients & families at times even though you might be at the peak of exhaustion, and so on…before you reach your final destination.
So now let’s think about how difficult it should be to actually be able to maintain this flow of good money and status. Well, one aspect that’ll help you with this is awareness of the personality qualities, which you need to, possess, or develop/improve within yourselves, that’ll help you achieve your goal and progress ahead;
- Ability to handle pressure
- Ability to take responsibility for others
- Analytical skills
- Readiness to work at odd hours
- Good health & stamina
- High level of patience & tolerance
- High self-confidence
- Sympathetic approach toward others
[VI] Engineer
A world in itself that offers more than 50 specializations most of which still remain undiscovered by aspirants. The reason is that a few typical specializations like mechanical, chemical, civil, electronics, etc. that is known to all and so the future generation is being guided along the same lines. Anyways, whatever the specialization in this vast field, a lot of personal qualities most essential to survive and succeed remain the same considering this field of Engineering as a whole.
To name a few;
- Analytical & logical reasoning skills
- Capacity to handle physical exertion during fieldwork.
- Constant mental alertness
- Craving to update oneself with the needs of the current hour
- Good observation skills
- Manual dexterity
- Systematic problem-solving approach
[VII] Pilot
Being a pilot is of course very prestigious not in terms of pay, but rather considering the fact that the term ‘pilot’ is synonymous with being responsible for the safety of thousands of lives at a time. Very few people get the opportunity to hold such responsible positions in the course of their life span.
In view of the vitality of the post therefore it becomes necessary to bear in mind the requisite traits in an individual that alone create the path towards success in this profession. For instance qualities such as;
- Ability to handle crisis situations
- Flexibility with regard to time & place
- High self-confidence
- Mental & physical alertness
- Optimistic attitude
- Presence of mind
[VII] Event Manager
With an increase in high-profile events like the Filmfare Awards, IIFAA Awards, Star Parivaar Awards, MTV awards, and the like, developing a formal training program in managing such events was probably felt as the need of the hour, the result of which we now have courses on Event Management alone.
It is however wrong to assume that managing such media-hyped events should be an easy task, or that it doesn’t take much to be an event manager. Definitely, it does, especially taking into account mastery over certain soft skills or individual traits as a whole in addition to the formal training.
- Ability for multi-tasking
- Ability to execute specific work for specific people
- Ability to stay up & work till late hours
- Ability to understand & manage people.
- Excellent planning & organizational skills
- Good communication skills
- Physical & mental alertness
- Physically fit and energetic
[IX] Journalist
Why would one want to be a journalist? A few of the most popular reasons could be “because I’ve always had a flair for words”, “it is a challenging profession”, “I want to be part of the media”, and so on and so forth. But are these the only criteria to survive in a sought-after profession?
The most important required qualities are often ignored. To name a few;
- Ability to express ideas in concise & appropriate words
- Ability to extract relevant information from others
- Ability to put in hard & smart work
- Ability to take risks
- Constant awareness & updating of happening events
- Curiosity to know more
- Flexibility with regard to time & situation
- Intricate observation skills
[X] Working at Call Centres
The in-thing today that helps you earn quick bucks, yes of course. So if you feel you do not get enough pocket money for your personal expenses, then work at a call center alongside your college education. This is the fact that has captured the thought processes of most youngsters today not realizing that it definitely creates a block to further progress on the educational front.
All right, assuming you wish to take up this job on a temporary basis just to finance yourself for future education, do also consider then the qualities you need to check and if necessary develop in yourself to cope with the intense stress and strain of this job.
- Ability to manage different projects at different times.
- Ability to work at odd hours
- Ability to work under immense pressure
- Ability to understand the unexpressed needs of customers.
- High level of patience
- Good communication skills
Often we tend to attribute very little or rather negligible importance to these aspects when it comes to choosing the right field. Much of the share of importance is given to either the status & money involved in the profession or our personal interest or because a particular career option is the in and most happening now.
But it is crucial to emphasize the fact that possessing the right personality traits alongside interest and abilities is equally important and since creating a change in personality is completely in your hands, it’s not a tough job.
To conclude, mere knowledge of the requisite traits is not all. Go ahead and implement this knowledge in the right manner to ensure the successful accomplishment of your goal. If you have anything really valuable to contribute to the world it will come through the expression of your own personality. That’s the only thing that sets you off and makes you different from every other individual.
